The Early Bird....

Out and about early Friday morning and greeted with a beautiful sunrise on the north bank of the Stour.

Nobody else about either, which is always a bonus on the packed island.

Definitely worth getting out of bed for.

Summer Returns

Well, it felt like it. 18 degrees C in November ? Yep. Make the most of it I say.

Two lovely walks in last two days.

Yesterday along the Colne with Glyn, bird watcher extrordinaire. Bloke has got eyes like a hawk and knows his birds and his patch, inside out. An interesting chap too. Oh and a Liverpool fan, so we were always going to be friends.

A short but cracking walk and a good chat too.

Today two walks, the usual early morning "loosener" and then a longer six miler towards Flatford.

Big flocks of godwits, redshanks, loads of widgeon and teal, various finches and tits and at dusk endless amounts of geese wheeling overhead. A great sight.

River up with a little colour after a bit of rain a few days ago and look much better for it.

Booooodaful.

Food For Free

Anyone like a bit of foraging ? Finding your own food ?

Or catching it ?

This week I took Dave fishing, he's just starting and he wanted to catch a few fish and learn how to prep them.

We went through some basic stuff, reliable knots, how to cast, habits of various species and tides. If you're a complete beginner fishing can be a bit of a mine field, there are so many variables. 

We caught plenty and I showed him how to gut, skin and fillet and now he has fresh fish for tea.

Happy days.

Deep in the Woods

Went out to recce a new walk yesterday and what a corker it is.

Colours of the trees really starting to turn now, really is a lovely walk through several different bits of woodland. Fungi everywhere, as you might expect this time of year, loads of different types, constantly changing as the species of tree changed.

Saw several loose flocks of long tailed tits, lots of jays and other corvids, a couple of greater spotted woodpeckers and as I came out of the woods in to a big meadow, a pair of buzzards wheeling high on the late autumn thermals.

Lots of weird looking stuff as you can see.

Managed to see a couple muntjaks just before dusk, plus a single roe deer. A lovely walk.

Fantastic Foraging

I keep going on and on about how this lovely mild weather keeps on but it is amazing and I've been out every day making the most of it.

The combination of overnight rain and the warmth resulted in a mass of fungi and I had a nice haul of field mushrooms at one of my favourite spots in bandit country over the Suffolk border. 

I contineued my walk across a couple of rough meadows before coming to a big wood full of sweet chestnut trees. And, more to the point, full of sweet chestnuts.

It's a funny thing, but although pretty much all the trees had plenty of chestnuts the size amd quality of them varied massively. Most of the big ones came off one tree. 

On the way back I picked what seemed to be the last of the fruits off a big damson bush, they're destined to be turned in to damdon gin.

Yeah, I know I should have a nice wicker basket but needs must, eh ?

Decent haul of damsons, field mushies and chestnuts.

Maybe a few more weeks of the conditions being right to get a few more before the cold weather finishes them off.